See the entries that caught our editors’ eyes.
Each week through January 2021, we will be rolling out two of our Editors’ Picks from GRAY Awards 2020.
Editors’ Pick: New Revival
NB Design Group
By GRAY Editors
NB Design Group refreshed this 1915 Tudor home in Seattle's Queen Anne neighborhood, making sure to balance modern design with historic details. Image by Haris Kenjar.
By the time James Fung and Whitney Maehara of NB Design Group first saw this historic Tudor in Seattle’s Queen Anne neighborhood, the 1915 house had undergone several rounds of remodels and updates. Their client, a woman with two daughters, hired the interiors firm to update the home but stressed the importance of paying homage to the structure’s unique architectural details.
“While the main level saw little architectural changes, the spaces got a dramatic update by painting the wood trim to showcase the ornate tracery and carvings,” the duo writes in its submission, “and the existing oak floors were sanded down, and sealed, to their natural oak color. New kitchen casework was installed in a neutral palette to highlight the original large metal range hood. On the exterior, a new glass box enclosure was added to the side entry to create a new modern mudroom that is gently perched on the landscape and subtly attaches to the existing brick façade to highlight the play of old and new.”
White was used throughout as a unifying base palette. Image by Haris Kenjar.
Upstairs the bedrooms were opened up to allow more natural light into each room and contemporary plywood casework, modern soaking tubs, and handmade wainscoting (a reference back to the tracery found on the main level) coexist in a chic blending of styles. It’s this balance of historic and contemporary details that stood out to our editors, as well as the full embrace of white, which can be rare in the Pacific Northwest. Of course, the stained-glass windows throughout are a standout that adds a sense of elegance and harken back to the stately origins of this house.
Stained-glass windows nod to the historic roots of the home, and they are balanced by modern, Scandanavian-style furniture. Images by Haris Kenjar.
“The design of the home unwraps when going up the hidden stairwell to the attic great room,” NB Design Group writes. “Completely clad in plywood, the organization of space in this room is defined by the gables characteristic of the Tudor style. A floating translucent wall gently curves around the main space to serve as a contrast to the harsh lines of the attic while providing a cocoon-like experience. This play of light and old vs. new breathes a fresh new life to this 100-plus-year home.”
The attic was transformed into a plywood-clad great room that feels simple and modern. Image by Haris Kenjar.
CATEGORY: Interior Design, Residential
PROJECT: New Revival
FIRM: NB Design Group
DATE OF COMPLETION: June 2018
LOCATION: Seattle, Washington, United States
PHOTOGRAPHED BY: Haris Kenjar
DESIGN TEAM
James Fung
Whitney Maehara
COLLABORATORS
DeForest Architects
Lockhart Suver
Haris Kenjar